An explosion of blood!
To Marvels credit, the producer Kevin Feige said to me, ThatAvengersjust made a tonne of money.
But lets not just do that again.
Lets not impose a template or make a run at recreate The Avengers.
Lets make a standalone movie.
Stylistically, it doesnt have to be the same asThe Avengers.
People would have walked out and said, We dont get it.
This is a totally different movie.
That was what I liked.
So the films I enjoyed as a kid were the thrillers that came out of the 70s.
Back then, you didnt have action movies; you had adventure films or thrillers.
They just said it was a thrilling movie.
It was this epic adventure.
So for me, thats the stamp I wanted to get back to.
I think Favreau understood that, and I hope thats what weve done.
The set-pieces arent interchangeable.
They get a clue, the go here and theres another gun fight.
And you could swap those.
And thats not what we wanted to do.
Those are the kinds of things we concentrated on to get to put an individual stamp on it.
You mentioned the 80s.
1987 was obviously a huge year for your career, withLethal Weaponand your role inPredator.
How do you think the industrys changed, at least for writers trying to break through as you did?
Theres a lot fewer films getting made now.
We see good Pixar movies, and a few films based on books, but where are the originals?
I guess, maybeOblivion?
Was that an original?
It was, yes.
Thats one of very few, certainly, to be made at any budget level.
Or a remake of a movie that started in Europe, or came out five years ago here.
Its a difficult spec market.
The first script most people write probably isnt going to sell mine didnt!
They might say, Yeah, hes pretty good.
Lets get him in to do the next draft of our film thats in production.
Thats why a spec script is still a great idea.
Its probably a good idea to get representation, to have a product.
Also, I just think its necessary.
I got a treatment I wrote.
Im like, you idiot.
Youre out here, practicing your craft.
What if someone comes up to you and says, What have you got?
Show me what you got, boy.
Youve got to have a product.
No one cares about your ideas.
Theyre not going to come knocking on your door looking for ideas.
So thats my advice: write your spec scripts, no matter what.
Theyre essential as a calling card, even if they dont get produced.
Youve had some great directors handle your scripts.
Tony Scott, Richard Donner, Renny Harlin.
How did you feel about the way they directed your work?
I would always find things Id do differently.
You see it from that objective viewpoint.
If instead you cut to a hand crashing through the window and smash!
An explosion of blood!
…thats a totally different effect, putting you there subjectively.
Its stylistic, its all about the choices you want to make.
He used too much slow-motion, I thought.
Hed have eight cameras rolling, and not one of them was at 24 frames per second.
Id kid him about that.
But hes a great director in certain ways.
I just wanted to be able to correct whatever flaws or whatever choices I disagreed with.
And onKiss Kiss Bang Bang, I had an opportunity with producer Joel Silver to do that.
Maybe theres six or seven mistakes I made.
I can see them in the finished film: Ah, I should have done that differently.
I should have cut that differently.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bangis another film of yours thats set at Christmas.
Is this a motif in your writing, or does it have a deeper meaning?
Its unifying, and all your characters are involved in this event that stays within the larger story.
It roots it, I think, it grounds everything.
At Christmas, lonely people are lonelier, seeing friends and families go by.
People take reckoning, they stock of where their lives are at Christmas.
Ive always liked it, especially in thrillers, for some reason.
Its a touch of magic.
What are your memories of writingLast Action Hero?
That was no fun.
Its not something you’re able to look back on fondly with the passing of time?
Carrie Fisher had a pass at one point.
William Goldman did a bunch of drafts.
We came back in and did a draft.
It must be better now.
That wasnt my favourite thing Ive worked on.
It was an example of one film Id have done a little differently.
But I like John McTiernans work a lot.
[Thoughtfully] Boy.
Is he out yet?
I think he is, isnt he?
Im getting him muddled up with Wesley Snipes…
Ha, yeah, Wesley Snipes is out!
Do you still feel that way after makingIron Man 3?
Yes, because I insisted on being involved in the writing.
I worked every day with Drew.
So it felt like an accomplishment.
It felt like we had earned the scenes by the time it came to directing.
Because so much of directing is just getting the script right.
Getting the beats to play, and knowing what to emphasise.
To me, screenwriting isnt just exit, enter, speak your lines.
Its really about establishing a rhythm, and directing on paper, to some extent.
In fact, Ive been accused of doing that.
So yeah, if you read the script toIron Man 3,youll see its really directed on paper.
Shane Black, thank you very much.
Iron Man 3is out in UK cinemas on the 24th April.
